Study says DRM counters Canadian privacy laws

This week the Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic (CIPPIC) released a report which investigated DRM used in 16 different products and services. The
conclusion was that many DRM technologies fail to comply with basic
requirements of Canadian privacy law.

The study, published
by the University of Ottawa’s Canadian Internet Policy and Public
Interest Clinic (CIPPIC), indicated that DRM is being used to collect,
use and disclose consumers’ personal information for secondary
purposes, without giving the user adequate notice or the opportunity to
opt-out of collection.

The
report investigated DRM systems used in 16 different digital products
and services including Apple’s iTunes Music Store, Microsoft’s Office
Visio, and Symantec’s North SystemWorks 2006.

“The privacy concerns with DRM are substantiated by what we saw,” David
Fewer, staff counsel with CIPPIC and the study’s lead investigator,
said.

Most consumers are not fans of DRM (if they understand it, at least). A legal way of derailing it, or at least convincing companies to consider selling DRM-free products, would be fantastic.